CN106516588B

CN106516588B - Linear feeder

Info

Publication number: CN106516588B
Application number: CN201610816558.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 成川修一
Original assignee: Sinfonia Technology Co Ltd
Current assignee: Sinfonia Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2015-09-10
Filing date: 2016-09-12
Publication date: 2020-06-09
Anticipated expiration: 2036-09-12
Also published as: CN106516588A; JP2017052622A; TW201711940A; TWI686340B; KR20170031071A; JP6643696B2

Abstract

The invention provides a linear feeder. The linear feeder is configured to vibrate a vertically long guide plate in a longitudinal direction by a vibration principle completely different from that of a conventional linear feeder, and is capable of conveying a conveyed object on the guide plate at a stable conveying speed. The linear feeder includes: a fixed part; a movable part, a guide plate is fixed on the upper end part; a support spring for connecting the fixed part and the movable part; a vibrator having a mounting portion provided on one end side for mounting to the movable portion, a column portion extending in a height direction from the mounting portion, and a weight portion provided on the other end side as a free end, and performing a pendulum motion; and an excitation source for vibrating the vibrator, wherein the vibrator, the movable part, and the guide plate are configured to vibrate to convey the object by driving the excitation source.

Description

Linear feeder

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a linear feeder that conveys a member or the like by vibration.

Background

Conventionally, there is known a linear feeder capable of feeding a conveyed object to a downstream side in a conveying direction along a conveying path set on a guide plate by applying vibration to the guide plate (also referred to as a conveying table or a chute) elongated linearly (japanese: トラフ).

As such a linear feeder, the following devices are known: the vibration transport device includes a fixed base (fixed portion), a movable base (movable portion) to which a guide plate is connected, a drive spring that connects the fixed portion and the movable portion to each other and elastically supports the movable portion to the fixed portion, and a vibration source, and when the drive spring is directly or indirectly vibrated by a vibration force applied from the vibration source, the movable portion and the fixed portion vibrate relative to each other, and the vibration is transmitted to the guide plate integrally connected to the movable portion, whereby a transported object is vibrated and transported on a transport path set on the guide plate (see, for example,

patent documents

1 and 2 below).

In the conventional linear feeder, for example, as schematically shown in fig. 31, a plate-shaped spring (leaf spring) is used as the driving spring 104, and the driving springs 104 are arranged in pairs at a predetermined position on the upstream side in the conveying direction and a predetermined position on the downstream side in the conveying direction, which are spaced apart from each other. The conveying direction is the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the guide plate 102.

The pair of driving springs 104 are disposed in such a posture that the thickness direction thereof coincides with the conveying direction. The pair of drive springs 104 are disposed in a predetermined inclined posture in order to prevent and suppress behavior such as pitching and rolling of the object on the conveyance path of the guide plate 102 (see fig. 31).

Then, the movable portion 103 and the fixed portion 101 are vibrated in opposite directions by the exciting force applied from the exciting source (not shown) via the driving spring 104, whereby the guide plate 102 connected to the movable portion 103 is vibrated in the longitudinal direction, and the conveyed object is conveyed downstream in the conveying direction.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open No. 2012 and 066931 (patent No. 5741993)

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2015-101430

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

As described above, in the conventional linear feeder, the drive spring is directly or indirectly vibrated by the vibration source, and the movable portion and the fixed portion can be relatively displaced while the drive spring itself is deflected.

Thus, with such a configuration, it is considered that: as schematically shown in fig. 32, the movable portion 103 and the fixed portion 101 are also bent by the pair of driving springs 104 being bent and deformed into the letter S shape, and as a result, the guide plate 102 fixed to the movable portion 103 so as to operate integrally with the movable portion 103 is also bent, and there is a case where a stable conveyance process is hindered, for example, a conveyance speed is not uniform. In particular, it is believed that: in a conventional linear feeder using a drive spring 104 that deforms into an S-letter shape during vibration (during energization), the larger the thickness dimension of the drive spring 104 is (the thicker the thickness dimension is), the larger the deflection of the guide plate is, in order to increase the vibration frequency for realizing high-speed vibration conveyance.

Therefore, although there is a case where a countermeasure for reducing the deflection of the guide plate 102 is required by manufacturing the movable portion 103 and the fixed portion 101 with high accuracy in consideration of the S-shaped deformation of the driving spring 104, the driving spring 104 is strained when the processing accuracy of the movable portion 103 and the fixed portion 101 is low, and this may become a factor of the deflection of the guide plate 102.

Further, in the conventional linear feeder, since the driving spring is deformed in an S-letter shape, the displacement amount from the time before the deformation to the time when the deformation is maximized is about half of the displacement amount, and the vibration attenuation is large as compared with a spring deformed in a bow shape, for example, and therefore, the vibration gain due to resonance is small, and there is a room for improvement in terms of efficiency.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is a main object of the present invention to provide a linear feeder capable of vibrating a long guide plate in a longitudinal direction by using a vibration principle completely different from that of a conventional linear feeder, and particularly capable of conveying a conveyed object on the guide plate at a stable conveying speed.

Means for solving the problems

That is, the linear feeder according to the present invention applies vibration to a guide plate extending linearly, and conveys a conveyed object placed on the guide plate along the longitudinal direction of the guide plate. Here, the object to be conveyed is, for example, an electronic component (workpiece) of a minute size, but is not particularly limited as long as the object can be conveyed by the linear feeder of the present invention.

Further, a linear feeder according to the present invention includes: a fixing part directly or indirectly fixed on the ground; a movable part, a guide plate is fixed on the upper end part; a support spring for connecting the fixed part and the movable part; a vibrator having a mounting portion provided on one end side for mounting to the movable portion, a column portion extending in a height direction from the mounting portion, and a weight portion provided on the other end side as a free end, and performing a pendulum motion; and an oscillation source for oscillating the oscillator, wherein the oscillator, the movable portion, and the guide plate oscillate to convey the object by operating the oscillation source.

In the linear feeder according to the present invention, when the vibrator is vibrated by the vibration source, the column portion of the vibrator having the weight portion at the other end side as the free end is operated like a spring with the mounting portion attached to the movable portion as a fulcrum, and the entire vibrator is vibrated by the pendulum motion, and the movable portion is vibrated by the reaction thereof, and the vibration is transmitted to the guide plate fixed to the upper end portion of the movable portion. As a result, the guide plate linearly extending vibrates, and the object placed on the guide plate can be conveyed along the longitudinal direction of the guide plate. Further, the vibrator performs a pendulum motion in a plane (vertical plane) perpendicular to the horizontal plane or a plane (plane visible as vertical plane) close to the vertical plane, and a moving trajectory of the free end of the vibrator (reciprocating trajectory of the vibrator) set to reciprocate in the pendulum motion is parallel or substantially parallel to the longitudinal direction of the guide plate in a plan view, whereby the object placed on the vertically long guide plate can be conveyed by vibration along the longitudinal direction of the guide plate.

In the present invention, the "floor surface" to which the fixing portion is directly or indirectly fixed is not necessarily a floor surface on which a person walks, but may include a mounting surface of a table on which the linear feeder is mounted. Since the fixed portion fixed to the ground elastically supports the movable portion by the support spring, the movable portion is stationary without being deflected and deformed during the pendulum motion of the vibrator.

As described above, the linear feeder according to the present invention can avoid and suppress the deflection of the movable portion and the fixed portion and the deflection of the guide plate, which are inevitably generated when the pair of driving springs used in the conventional linear feeder are deflected and deformed in the S-letter shape, by using a hitherto-unknown novel vibration principle of conveying the object on the guide plate by the vibration of the vibrator operation of the vibrator, and can prevent and suppress the defects such as the deviation of the conveying speed due to the deflection of the guide plate, thereby realizing the stable conveying process.

In particular, according to the linear feeder of the present invention, the vibration frequency of the movable section and the guide plate, which are not subjected to bending deformation or flexural deformation due to the vibration of the vibrator, can be easily changed by changing the vibration frequency of the vibrator, and high-frequency vibration conveyance such as 1000Hz to 2000Hz, which is difficult in the conventional linear feeder, can be performed, and the speed of conveyance processing can be increased.

Further, according to the linear feeder of the present invention, since the guide plate is not bent or is slightly bent, the object can be stably conveyed even if the length of the guide plate is set to be large. In particular, in the linear feeder of the present invention, even if the linear feeder of the related art vibrates in a high frequency band in which the flexural deformation of the guide plate is remarkable, the guide plate is not deformed, or even if the flexural deformation occurs, the flexural deformation can be suppressed to be extremely small as compared with the related art, and therefore, the length dimension of the guide plate can be set to be large.

The linear feeder of the present invention is also advantageous in that it does not particularly require high-precision machining of the movable portion and the fixed portion, which is required in the conventional linear feeder in which the strain of the drive spring can cause the guide plate to flex.

Further, according to the linear feeder of the present invention, since the column portion of the pendulum-type vibrator is deformed into the arcuate shape without being deformed into the letter S shape, the displacement amount of the vibrator (the displacement amount of the column portion operating like a spring) from the time before the deformation to the time when the deformation is maximum can be considerably increased, the vibration attenuation is small, the vibration gain due to resonance is increased, and the efficiency can be improved, as compared with the conventional linear feeder using the driving spring deformed into the letter S shape.

The linear feeder of the present invention may have a single vibrator or may have a plurality of vibrators. In particular, in the linear feeder of the present invention, as a structure capable of efficiently transmitting linear vibration from the circular motion of the pendulum motion by the vibrator to the movable portion and the guide plate, there is a structure including one or a plurality of pairs of vibrators, and each vibrator of each group is disposed in a direction opposite to each other in the vertical direction. That is, in the linear feeder of the present invention, the mounting portions of the respective vibrators of the respective groups are fixed to the movable portion so that the positions of the weight portions are turned upside down from each other, and the circular motions of the respective vibrators of the respective groups are synthesized to cancel the rotational moment, so that linear vibrations are generated, and the vibrations propagate to the movable portion and the guide plate, whereby stable vibrations of the conveyed object on the conveyable guide plate can be obtained.

In particular, in the linear feeder of the present invention, the plurality of transducers may be arranged in one or more directions selected from the longitudinal direction, the height direction, and the width direction of the guide plate. For example, when the linear feeder is to be reduced in height, the plurality of transducers may be arranged in a row along the longitudinal direction or the width direction of the guide plate, and when the linear feeder is to be made compact in the width direction, the plurality of transducers may be arranged in a row along the longitudinal direction or the height direction of the guide plate.

In the linear feeder of the present invention, the guide plate may be fixed to the upper end portion as the movable portion, and the mounting portion to which the vibrator can be mounted may be fixed. In particular, if a linear feeder is used in which a movable portion is formed by a case in which a vibrator is accommodated in an internal space, the sound-proofing and sound-insulating properties are improved by accommodating the vibrator that performs a pendulum motion in the internal space of the case.

The linear feeder of the present invention can set the vibration direction of the guide plate in an arbitrary direction according to the inclination angle of the support spring connecting the fixed part and the movable part. Therefore, in the present invention, if the plate-shaped support spring connecting the fixed part and the movable part is configured to be capable of being changed to a vertical posture in which the height direction coincides with the vertical direction and an inclined posture inclined at a predetermined angle from the vertical posture, the optimum vibration direction of the guide plate can be selected and set in consideration of various conditions such as the type, shape, and specification of the object to be conveyed. As described above, in the linear feeder of the present invention, the support spring functions as a vibration angle adjusting spring, and the vibration direction of the guide plate can be changed by changing the angle of the support spring.

ADVANTAGEOUS EFFECTS OF INVENTION

In the linear feeder according to the present invention, a novel structure is adopted in which the mounting portion provided on one end side of the oscillator performing the swing motion is attached to the movable portion, and the vibration of the oscillator is transmitted to the movable portion and the guide plate to convey the conveyed object on the guide plate in the longitudinal direction of the predetermined guide plate, whereby the conventional problem of transmitting the bending deflection to the guide plate can be solved without complicating the structure, and the stable vibration conveyance can be realized.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a side view of a linear feeder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a partially omitted front view of the linear feeder according to this embodiment.

Fig. 3 is a view corresponding to fig. 1 of the linear feeder in which the support spring is set to the inclined posture in this embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a view showing only the vibrator and the excitation source extracted from fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a view showing only the oscillator and the oscillation origin extracted from fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the pendulum motion of the vibrator according to this embodiment.

Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of the linear feeder according to this embodiment in which linear vibration is generated.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating that the accompanying area of the piezoelectric element with respect to the plate spring differs according to the difference in deformation of the plate spring.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating the difference in the amount of displacement of the leaf spring according to the difference in deformation of the leaf spring.

Fig. 10 shows a modification of the vibrator according to this embodiment.

Fig. 11 shows a modification of the vibrator according to this embodiment.

Fig. 12 shows a modification of the vibrator according to this embodiment.

Fig. 13 shows a modification of the vibrator according to this embodiment.

Fig. 14 shows a modification of the vibrator according to this embodiment.

Fig. 15 is a side view of a modification of the linear feeder of this embodiment.

Fig. 16 is a side view of a modification of the linear feeder of this embodiment.

Fig. 17 is a side view of a modification of the linear feeder of this embodiment.

Fig. 18 is a front view of the linear feeder according to the modification, which is partially omitted.

Fig. 19 is a side view of a modification of the linear feeder of the embodiment.

Fig. 20 is a front view of the linear feeder according to the modification, which is partially omitted.

Fig. 21 is a side view of a modification of the linear feeder of this embodiment.

Fig. 22 shows a modification of the vibrator according to this embodiment.

Fig. 23 is a side view of a modification of the linear feeder of this embodiment.

Fig. 24 is a side view of a modification of the linear feeder of this embodiment.

Fig. 25 is a side view of a modification of the linear feeder of this embodiment.

Fig. 26 is a front view of the linear feeder according to the modification, which is partially omitted.

Fig. 27 is a side view of a modification of the linear feeder of the embodiment.

Fig. 28 is a front view of the linear feeder according to the modification, which is partially omitted.

Fig. 29 is a side view of a modification of the linear feeder of the embodiment.

Fig. 30 is a front view of the linear feeder according to the modification, which is partially omitted.

Fig. 31 is a side view schematically showing a conventional linear feeder.

Fig. 32 is a diagram schematically showing the correspondence between fig. 31 and the conventional linear feeder during vibration.

Reference numeralsDescription of the invention

1. A fixed part; 2. a movable part; 21. a side plate; 25. a housing; 3. a support spring; 4. a vibrator; 41. an installation part; 42. a pillar portion; 43. a counterweight portion; 5. a vibration source; t, a guide plate; x, linear feeder.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The linear feeder X of the present embodiment vibrates a guide plate T extending linearly, and conveys a conveyed object (not shown) placed on the guide plate T along the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T. The object to be conveyed is not particularly limited as long as it can be conveyed on the guide plate T by vibration.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2 (fig. 1 is a side view of a linear feeder X, and fig. 2 is a front view of the linear feeder X as viewed from the direction of an arrow a in fig. 1), the linear feeder X of the present embodiment includes a fixed portion 1, a movable portion 2 to which a guide plate T is fixed at an upper end portion, a support spring 3 for connecting the fixed portion 1 and the movable portion 2, a vibrator 4 which has a mounting portion 41 provided at one end side fixed to the movable portion 2 and performs a pendulum motion with a predetermined point of the mounting portion 41 as a fulcrum, and an excitation source 5 for vibrating the vibrator 4, and the vibrator 4 is vibrated by operating the excitation source 5, and the movable portion 2 directly fixed to the vibrator 4 and the guide plate T fixed to the movable portion 2 vibrate to convey an object. Here, one direction along the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T extending linearly coincides with the conveying direction of the conveyed object conveyed on the guide plate T.

The guide plate T has a vertically long block shape, and a conveying surface T1 for conveying the conveyed object is formed by a pair of inclined surfaces formed in a V-shaped cross section. That is, the conveying surface T1 formed of a pair of inclined surfaces extending in the longitudinal direction functions as a conveying path for the object. In the present embodiment, a conveyance surface T1 (conveyance path) is formed on the upper surface of the guide plate T.

The fixing part 1 is fixed directly or indirectly on the ground. In the present embodiment, the fixing portion 1 is constituted by a mounting block 11 fixed to the floor. The mounting block 11 constituting the fixing portion 1 also functions as a balance weight (a weight for vibration adjustment). In the present embodiment, the mounting block 11 is fixed to the ground by, for example, screws (not shown).

The movable portion 2 includes a pair of side plates 21 disposed at opposite positions in the width direction W of the guide plate T. In the present embodiment, the upper end portions of the side plates 21 are connected to each other by the connecting plate 22. Thus, the movable portion includes a pair of left and right side plates 21 and a connecting plate 22. The side plate 21 is substantially rectangular, is disposed in a posture in which the plate thickness direction (thickness direction) coincides with the width direction W of the guide plate T, and has a dimension along the conveying direction (longitudinal direction of the guide plate T) set shorter than the longitudinal dimension of the guide plate T. The connecting plate 22 connecting the upper ends of the side plates 21 to each other is disposed in a posture of being sandwiched between the inward surfaces of the side plates 21 (the surfaces of the side plates 21 disposed to face each other), and is integrally fixed to the side plates 21 by a screw N1. A space surrounded by the pair of side plates 21 and the coupling plate 22, that is, an internal space of the movable portion 2 serves as a placement space of the vibrator 4 described later.

In the present embodiment, the width of the connecting plate 22 is set to be longer than the width of the guide plate T (see fig. 2), and the guide plate T is fixed to the connecting plate 22 by a screw N2 that penetrates the connecting plate 22 from above the guide plate T in a state where the guide plate T is placed on the upward surface of the connecting plate 22 (see fig. 1). Screw N2 is omitted in fig. 2. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, the width dimension of the movable portion 2 (the dimension from the outward surface of one side plate 21 to the outward surface of the other side plate 21) is made substantially equal to the width dimension of the fixed portion 1.

The support spring 3 has one end fixed to a spring 1 st mounting portion 1a provided in the fixed portion 1 and the other end fixed to a spring 2 nd mounting portion 2a provided in the movable portion 2. In the present embodiment, the support spring 3 formed of a thin plate-like plate spring is disposed in a posture in which the plate thickness direction (thickness direction) coincides with the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T. In the present embodiment, the spring 1 st attaching portion 1a is fixed to the fixed portion 1 by a screw N3, and the spring 2 nd attaching portion 2a is fixed to the movable portion 2 by a screw N4. In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 1 and 3, the fixing portion 1 is formed with a larger number of screw holes than the number of screws N3, and the screw holes to which the screws N3 are screwed are appropriately selected and changed, whereby the mounting posture of the spring 1 st mounting portion 1a to the fixing portion 1 can be changed. When the attachment posture of the spring 1 st attachment part 1a to the fixing part 1 is changed, the screw N4 for fixing the spring 2 nd attachment part 2a is loosened, and the spring 2 nd attachment part 2a connected to the spring 1 st attachment part 1a via the support spring 3 can be rotated with the screw N4 as a pivot point in accordance with the process of changing the attachment posture of the spring 1 st attachment part 1a to the fixing part 1. Further, the spring 1 st attaching portion 1a can be fixed to the movable portion 2 so as not to be relatively movable with respect to the movable portion 2 by re-tightening the screw N4 after the spring 1 st attaching portion 1a is fixed to the fixed portion 1 by the screw N3. In the present embodiment, the spring No. 2 mounting portion 2a is fixed to the outward facing surface of the side plate 21 constituting the movable portion 2 by a screw N4, and the spring No. 1 mounting portion 1a is fixed to the side surface of the fixed portion 1, which is substantially flush with the outward facing surface of the side plate 21 of the movable portion 2, by a screw N3.

As described above, the linear feeder X according to the present embodiment is configured to be able to change the support spring 3 having a plate shape to a vertical posture (see fig. 1) in which the height direction is aligned with the vertical direction and an inclined posture (see fig. 3) inclined at a predetermined angle from the vertical posture.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5 (fig. 4 and 5 are views in which the vibrator 4 and the vibration source 5 are extracted from the linear feeder X shown in fig. 1 and 2, respectively), the vibrator 4 includes a mounting portion 41 that is provided on one end side and is fixable to the movable portion 2, a column portion 42 that extends in the height direction from the mounting portion 41, and a weight portion 43 that is provided on the other end side as a free end. The transducer 4 has a 1 st flange 44 and a 2 nd flange 45 extending in the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T at both ends of the column portion 42, and the mounting portion 41 is constituted by one flange (in the present embodiment, the 1 st flange 44 having a relatively short dimension in the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T), and a part of the weight portion 43 is constituted by the other flange (in the present embodiment, the 2 nd flange 45 having a relatively long dimension in the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T).

In the present embodiment, the mounting portion 41 of the vibrator 4 is fixed to the inward surface of the side plate 21 in the movable portion 2. In the linear feeder X of the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, a structure having a protruding end surface 441 protruding by a predetermined dimension in the width direction W of the guide T (the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction H of the guide T in a plane) from the other portions (the pillar portion 42 and the weight portion 43) of the transducer 4 and coming into contact with the inward surface of the movable portion 2 (the inward surface of the side plate 21) preferentially over the pillar portion 42, the 2 nd flange portion 45, and the weight portion 43 is applied as the 1 st flange portion 44 constituting the mounting portion 41. Then, in a state where the projecting end surface 441 is in contact with the inward surface of the side plate 21, the vibrator 4 is fixed to the movable portion 2 by screwing a screw N5 inserted from the outward surface side of the side plate 21 into a screw hole 442 formed in the mounting portion 41 (see fig. 1 and 2). Therefore, the protruding end surface 441 of the mounting portion 41, which is a surface in contact with the inward surface of the movable portion 2 (the inward surface of the side plate 21), functions as a fixing surface of the vibrator 4. In the present embodiment, the vibrator 4 is fixed to the movable portion 2 in a posture in which the vibrator 4 is sandwiched between a pair of side plates 21 disposed facing each other in a posture in which the plate thickness direction (thickness direction) coincides with the width direction W of the guide plate T. The width of the 1 st flange 44 constituting the mounting portion 41 is the same as or substantially the same as the width of the connecting plate 22 constituting the movable portion 2 (see fig. 2).

In particular, in the linear feeder X of the present embodiment, the 1 st flange portion 44 constituting the mounting portion 41 is formed to extend in the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T with respect to the column portion 42 extending in the height direction, and the 1 st flange portion 44 and the column portion 42 are formed to have the letter T shape as a whole in a side view. Therefore, the protruding end surface 441 that is a surface that contacts the inward surface of the movable portion 2 (the inward surface of the side plate 21) is also a surface that extends along the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T. In the present embodiment, screw holes 442 are formed in the 1 st flange portion 44 constituting the mounting portion 41 at positions close to both ends extending in the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T. These screw holes 442 are formed at positions offset from the axial center of the pillar portion 42 (a virtual line L1 shown in fig. 6 described later).

In the vibrator 4 of the present embodiment, the 1 st flange portion 44 constituting the mounting portion 41, the 2 nd flange portion 45 constituting a part of the weight portion 43, and the pillar portion 42 are integrally formed.

The weight 43 is set on the other end side of the vibrator 4 as a free end. In the present embodiment, the weight 43 including the 2 nd flange portion 45 and the weight main body 46 independent from the 2 nd flange portion 45 is applied.

The weight main body 46 is fixed by a screw N6 in a state where both longitudinal end portions of the 2 nd flange portion 45 are in contact with a surface facing the 1 st flange portion 44. The weight main body 46 is fixed in a state in which one end surface in the height direction thereof is in contact with the 2 nd flange portion 45, and in this fixed state, the other end surface in the height direction is positioned closer to the 1 st flange portion 44 than the 2 nd flange portion 45. The mounting direction (screwing forward and backward direction) of the screw N6 when fixing the weight main body 46 to the 2 nd flange 45 is set in a direction other than the extending direction (longitudinal direction H) of the guide plate T. Specifically, the mounting direction (screwing forward and backward direction) of the screw N6 is set in the height direction. A pair of right and left screw insertion holes are formed in the 2 nd flange portion 45 at both longitudinal end portions, respectively, and 1 weight main body 46 is fixed by two screws N6 (see fig. 5). A screw hole is formed in the weight main body 46, and a screw N6 inserted from the screw insertion hole of the 2 nd flange 45 is screwed into the screw hole of the weight main body 46 to be fixed. A recess for accommodating a screw head is formed in each screw through hole, and the screw head is set to be exposed without protruding to the outside.

In this manner, in the present embodiment, the weight 43 is configured by the 2 nd flange 45 and the weight main body 46 provided on the other end side as the free end of the vibrator 4. The portion of the pillar portion 42 near the 2 nd flange portion 45 is a free end, and this portion can be regarded as a portion constituting a part of the weight portion 43.

In the linear feeder X of the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, the transducer 4 is set to perform a pendulum motion with a point of the mounting portion 41 coinciding with the axial center of the pillar portion 42 (the center of the pillar portion 42 in the thickness direction (the same direction as the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T), and a line L1 shown by a one-dot chain line in the drawing, as a fulcrum. At this time, the column portion 42 of the vibrator 4 operates like a spring by the elasticity of the material itself. The vibration direction of the pendulum-type vibrator 4 is parallel to the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T in a plan view.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, the linear feeder X of the present embodiment includes piezoelectric elements 5 provided on a pair of opposing surfaces of the plate-shaped column part 42 facing the extending direction of the guide plate T, respectively, as an excitation source 5 for vibrating the vibrator 4. In the present embodiment, the piezoelectric element 5 (see fig. 5) having a size capable of covering most of the region except the vicinity of the upper and lower ends of the facing surface of the pillar portion 42 is applied. Then, by extending and contracting the piezoelectric elements 5 provided on the opposing surfaces of the pillar portions 42 (for example, by applying a sinusoidal voltage to the piezoelectric elements 5 to cause periodic extension), the pillar portions 42 are flexed in an arcuate shape as a whole with a fulcrum at a position where the axial center L1 of the pillar portions 42 passes in the mounting portion 41 as a fixed surface of the vibrator 4 to the movable portion 2, thereby performing a vibrator operation. As a result, oscillator 4 also performs an appropriate oscillator operation in conjunction with the weight of weight 43, and oscillator 4 vibrates. Here, the vibration frequency can be easily changed by changing the thickness dimension of the pillar portion 42 (the dimension along the thickness direction of the pillar portion 42 (the same direction as the arrow H direction shown in fig. 4 and the like)). Even when high-frequency vibration (for example, 1000Hz to 2000Hz) occurs by setting the thickness dimension of the column part 42 to be large, the fixing screw N5 is screwed to the screw hole 442 formed in the protruding end surface 441 of the fixing surface of the transducer 4 to the movable part 2 at a position displaced from the fulcrum of the vibrating column part 42, thereby fixing the transducer 4 to the movable part 2, and therefore, it is possible to appropriately support large deflection of the column part 42 during pendulum movement. Further, since the pillar portion 42 is deformed into a bow shape to reduce vibration attenuation and a vibration gain due to resonance is large, the number of piezoelectric elements 5 required to obtain a desired amplitude can be reduced. The piezoelectric element 5 is fixed to the opposing surface of the pillar portion 42 by an appropriate process such as a bonding process. A predetermined gap is secured between the piezoelectric element 5 and the weight 43 (specifically, the weight main body 46) in the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T, and a situation where the piezoelectric element 5 and the weight 43 interfere with each other is avoided (see fig. 4 and 6).

In the linear feeder X of the present embodiment, the transducers 4 are provided in pairs, and the 1 group of transducers 4 (pair of transducers 4) are arranged in a row along the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T. Each transducer 4 is fixed to the common movable portion 2 in a state in which the positions of the weight portions 43 are reversed from each other. That is, the respective transducers 4 are disposed in the opposite vertical directions. Each transducer 4 has the same structure. In fig. 2, which is a front view of the linear feeder X according to the present embodiment, in order to avoid an extremely complicated diagram, only the transducer 4 on the right side of the plane of the drawing in fig. 1 among the pair of transducers 4 is schematically shown, and the transducer 4 on the left side of the plane of the drawing in fig. 1 is omitted. The same applies to fig. 5.

The linear feeder X of the present embodiment described above has the following structure: a pair of vibrators 4 arranged in vertically opposite directions are fixed in a manner of being sandwiched between a pair of side plates 21 in a movable part 2, a guide plate T is fixed to an upward surface of a connecting plate 22 in the movable part 2, a fixing part 1 is arranged below the movable part 2 via a support spring 3, and the vibrators 4 are elastically supported.

In the linear feeder X of the present embodiment, when the vibration source 5 is in an operating state (a state in which the piezoelectric element 5 is extended and contracted), the vibrator 4 vibrates by the vibrator operation, the movable portion 2 vibrates by its reaction, and the vibration propagates to the guide plate T, and the guide plate T itself also vibrates. Specifically, when the piezoelectric element 5 constituting the excitation source 5 of at least one of the transducers 4 is expanded and contracted, the columnar portion 42 is deflected and vibrated, and the entire transducer 4 performs a transducer operation in which the free end side is reciprocated in an arc shape with a predetermined portion (a position where the axial center L2 of the columnar portion 42 passes) fixed to the mounting portion 41 of the movable portion 2 as a fulcrum. In particular, since weight main body 46 is provided on the free end side of transducer 4, the reaction force of vibration is increased, and transducer 4 can be operated efficiently. Even when only the piezoelectric element 5 attached to one of the two transducers 4 constituting the pair of transducers 4 of 1 group is in the energized state and the piezoelectric element 5 attached to the other transducer 4 is in the energized off state, the transducer 4 attached to the piezoelectric element 5 in the energized off state vibrates by resonance.

In the linear feeder X of the present embodiment, the vibrators 4 are arranged in pairs in a vertically opposite orientation to each other, and therefore, the vibrations of the paired vibrators 4 are combined to generate a linear motion. That is, when the pair of transducers 4 are combined upside down, as shown in fig. 7, the fixed surface 441 of the transducer 4 linearly vibrates. Specifically, since the transducers 4 performing pendulum motion are provided in pairs in the movable portion 2 in the vertically opposite orientations to each other, and when the directions of the reaction forces acting on the fulcrums of the transducers 4 are the same and the directions of the vibrations of the transducers 4 are opposite to each other, the reaction force in one direction acts on the movable portion 2 and the rotational moments acting on the fulcrums of the transducers 4 cancel each other out, a force that deforms the movable portion 2 is not generated, and the fixed surface 441 of the transducer 4 linearly vibrates. In fig. 7, the vibration direction of each transducer 4 at a certain time during the pendulum motion of each transducer 4 arranged in a vertically opposite orientation and the direction in which the fixed surface 441 of each transducer 4 linearly vibrates by the vibration of the transducer 4 are schematically indicated by relatively thick arrows. In fig. 4, the vibration direction of each transducer 4 is schematically shown by an arrow, the vibration direction of the transducer 4 on the right side in the drawing is the same as the vibration direction of the transducer 4 on the upper side relative to the pair of transducers 4 shown in fig. 7, and the vibration direction of the transducer 4 on the left side in the drawing is the same as the vibration direction of the transducer 4 on the lower side relative to the pair of transducers 4 shown in fig. 7.

In this way, in the linear feeder X of the present embodiment, the pendulum motions of the paired transducers 4 are synthesized to be linear motions, and the vibrations are also propagated to the movable portion 2 of the fixed transducer 4 and the guide plate T integrally provided in the movable portion 2, so that the movable portion 2 and the guide plate T linearly vibrate. Therefore, according to the linear feeder X of the present embodiment, stable vibration that can vibrate and convey the object on the guide plate T in a predetermined direction can be obtained by the vibration of the pair of resonant vibrators 4 without propagating bending flexure to the guide plate T, and unevenness in the conveyance speed can be reduced.

Further, the linear feeder X of the present embodiment is configured such that the plate-like support spring 3 connecting the movable portion 2 and the fixed portion 1 to each other can be changed to a vertical posture (see fig. 1) in which the height direction coincides with the vertical direction and an inclined posture (see fig. 3) inclined from the vertical posture by a predetermined angle, and therefore the vibration direction of the guide plate T can be set in an arbitrary direction in accordance with the inclination of the support spring 3. Fig. 3 schematically shows a vibration direction TD of the guide plate T when the support spring 3 is set in the inclined posture. Here, when the support spring 3 in the vertical posture is set to the reference posture, the closer the support spring 3 is to the tilted posture, that is, the larger or smaller the inclination angle of the support spring 3 is than 90 degrees which is the angle of the reference posture, the larger the vibration vector in the vertical direction of the guide plate T becomes.

The linear feeder X of the present embodiment includes a driving unit for driving the guide plate T, and the driving unit can be regarded as a configuration using the vibration source 5, the vibrator 4, and the movable unit 2. Further, by changing the vibration frequency of the vibrator 4 and changing the vibration frequency of the entire driving portion that drives the guide plate T, high-frequency vibration transmission (for example, 1000Hz to 2000Hz) can be easily achieved.

In the linear feeder X of the present embodiment, the influence of the bending deflection on the guide plate T is reduced by adopting the above-described configuration, and the object on the conveyance path T1 formed on the guide plate T can be stably conveyed even when the length dimension of the guide plate T is set to be long. In particular, the linear feeder X of the present embodiment can perform high-frequency vibration conveyance even in a frequency band in which the influence of the deflection of the guide plate T is significant.

In the linear feeder X of the present embodiment, since the column parts 42 of the transducers 4 that operate like springs are deformed into a bow shape, the piezoelectric elements 5 having a large area can be attached to the column parts 42 by an appropriate means such as bonding, and the excitation force per one transducer 4 is increased. Here, the left side of fig. 8 with respect to the paper plane shows, very schematically, the portion where the piezoelectric element 5 is attached to the plate spring deformed in the S-letter shape that can be applied to the conventional linear feeder and the size of the piezoelectric element 5 ((a) of fig. 8), and the right side of the drawing shows, schematically, the portion where the piezoelectric element 5 is attached to the post (spring) deformed in the arcuate shape that can be applied to the linear feeder X of the present embodiment and the size of the piezoelectric element 5 ((b) of fig. 8), in order to make comparison with the conventional example.

In particular, in the linear feeder X of the present embodiment, since the column portion 42 of the vibrator 4 operates like a spring deformed into an arcuate shape, the amount of displacement from the reference state before deformation to the maximum deformation state in which the deformation is maximum becomes larger as compared with the conventional method in which the plate spring is deformed into an S-letter shape. Here, the left side of fig. 9 with respect to the paper plane shows, very schematically, the displacement amount D1 (fig. 9 (a)) from the reference state to the maximum deformed state of the plate spring deformed in the letter S shape applied to the conventional linear feeder, and the right side of the drawing schematically shows, in order to be able to compare with the conventional example, the displacement amount D2 (fig. 9 (b)) from the reference state to the maximum deformed state of the post (spring) deformed in the arcuate shape applied to the linear feeder X of the present embodiment. As described above, the linear feeder X of the present embodiment has less vibration attenuation and a large vibration gain due to resonance, and therefore, even if the number of the piezoelectric elements 5 is half of the number of the piezoelectric elements included in the conventional linear feeder in which the plate spring is deformed into the S-letter shape, the amplitude equivalent to that of the conventional linear feeder can be obtained. Here, if the number of the piezoelectric elements 5 of the present embodiment is the same as the number of the piezoelectric elements of the conventional linear feeder in which the plate spring is deformed into the S-letter shape, the current may be about half of the conventional current.

In the linear feeder X of the present embodiment, since the pair of vibrators 4 are independent from each other, the placement position of the pair of vibrators 4 is not particularly limited and can be set at any position. In the linear feeder X of the present embodiment, the pair of transducers 4 are arranged in a row along the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T, and therefore, the height direction can be made compact (reduced in height). In particular, the linear feeder X of the present embodiment is advantageous in that high processing accuracy is not required for a member for coupling the plurality of transducers 4 to each other (in the present embodiment, the side plate 21 constituting the movable portion 2) because the guide plate T can be vibrated to convey the object to be conveyed as long as the condition that the pendulum motion of each transducer 4 can be ensured is satisfied.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. For example, although the 2 nd flange portion 45 and the weight portion main body 46 of the transducer 4 constituting a part of the weight portion 43 are independent from each other in the above-described embodiment, a transducer having the 2 nd flange portion and the weight portion main body integrally formed can be applied. Fig. 10 shows an example of the transducer 4 including the weight 43 integrally including the 2 nd flange 45 and the weight main body 46 on the free end side.

Further, the shape and weight of the weight portion can be appropriately changed. For example, if the weight portion 43 having a shape extending in a direction away from the mounting portion 41 (the 1 st flange portion 44) is applied to the free end side of the pillar portion 42 as shown in fig. 11, the position of the weight portion 43 can be set to a position away from the fixing surface on which the transducer 4 is fixed to the movable portion 2, as compared with the embodiment described above.

As shown in fig. 12, the weight portion 43 may be formed asymmetrically with respect to the axial center of the pillar portion 42. In addition, fig. 12 illustrates such a manner: the dimension of the 2 nd flange portion 45 in the thickness direction of the pillar portion 42 (the same direction as the H direction in the drawing) is set to be shorter than the dimension of the 1 st flange portion 44 in the thickness direction of the pillar portion 42, and the weight portion main body 46 is fixed in a state of being in contact with the surface of the 2 nd flange portion 45 facing the thickness direction of the pillar portion 42. In this way, the dimension of the 2 nd flange portion 45 along the thickness direction of the column portion 42 can be appropriately changed. In fig. 12, screws for fixing the weight main body 46 to the 2 nd flange 45 are omitted.

As the weight portion, a shape other than a rectangular parallelepiped (including a cube), for example, a shape of a circle, a partial circle, a spherical shape, or a partial spherical shape as viewed from a predetermined direction, may be employed. In addition, a vibrator in which at least the pillar portion and the weight portion are formed in a Y-letter shape or a match rod shape as a whole may be applied.

As shown in fig. 13, the transducer 4 may be configured by the pillar portion 42, the mounting portion 41, and the weight portion 43, which are independent of each other. In this case, the separate parts may be integrally assembled with each other by a fixing tool such as a screw, or may be integrally fixed with each other by an appropriate bonding process. Fig. 13 illustrates a mode in which the weight main bodies 46 arranged at positions sandwiching the free end portion of the column portion 42 in the thickness direction are fixed to each other by a common screw N6. The transducer 4 shown in the figure can be regarded as an embodiment in which a portion corresponding to the 2 nd flange portion 45 of the above embodiment is formed by the free end portion of the pillar portion 42 and a portion of the weight portion main body 46.

Depending on the size and weight of the pillar portion constituting the transducer in the height direction, the pillar portion 42 may be configured without the 2 nd flange portion and the weight portion main body as shown in fig. 14, and the free end side region may function as the weight portion 43.

In the above-described embodiment, the mode in which one pair of transducers is provided is exemplified, but a mode in which a plurality of pairs of transducers are provided and pairs of transducers of each group are arranged in the opposite directions to each other may be adopted. Fig. 15 shows a linear feeder X having two pairs of vibrators 4 (pairs of vibrators 4), in which the mounting portions 41 are fixed to the common movable portion 2 so that the positions of the weight portions 43 of the vibrators 4 of the respective pairs are turned upside down from each other. Since the linear feeder X shown in the figure is arranged such that all the transducers 4 are aligned along the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T, the length of the guide plate T can be set larger than the linear feeder X exemplified in the above embodiment. As described above, as long as the linear feeder X of the present invention is provided, the number of the transducers 4 can be increased, and thus a driving unit (a driving unit having a plurality of transducers 4) for vibrating the vertically long guide plate T can be easily manufactured. Further, since the size of the movable portion 2 along the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T is increased by increasing the number of transducers 4, the number of supporting springs 3 connecting the movable portion 2 and the fixed portion 1 (in other words, the portion connecting the movable portion 2 and the fixed portion 1 by the supporting springs 3) may be increased as necessary. Further, by changing the posture of the support spring 3 between the vertical posture shown in fig. 15 and the inclined posture not shown, the vibration direction of the guide plate T can be changed. In this case, the support spring 3 functions as a spring for adjusting the vibration angle.

In addition, as shown in fig. 16, the linear feeder of the present invention can be applied to a case 25 (hollow block) for accommodating the vibrator 4 in the internal space 2S as the movable portion 2. This case 25 may be either a case in which a space capable of accommodating each of the plurality of transducers 4 is formed (see the drawing) or a case in which a space capable of accommodating 1 transducer 4 is formed. When the movable portion 2 is constituted by the case 25, the vibrator 4 is disposed in the space 2S sealed inside the case 4, whereby noise can be reduced (sound insulation can be achieved). As the case 25, for example, as shown in fig. 17 and 18 (fig. 18 is a view seen from the arrow a direction of fig. 17, and is a view in which the case 25 and the vibrator 4 on the right side of fig. 17 with respect to the paper surface are extracted), there can be cited a type including a case main body 26 that is open only on one side and a lid 27 that can close the opening of the case main body 26 from the side, or a type including a case main body that is open only on the upper side or the lower side and a lid that can close the opening of the case main body from the upper side or the lower side (illustration is omitted). In fig. 16 to 18, the embodiment in which the mounting direction of the screw N5 for fixing the mounting portion 41 (the 1 st flange portion 44) of the transducer 4 to the case 25 is set to the height direction and the transducer 4 is fixed to the upper wall portion or the lower wall portion of the case main body 26 facing in the height direction is illustrated, but the mounting direction of the screw N5 may be set to the width direction W of the guide plate T. In the latter case, the vibrator 4 may be fixed to a side wall portion of the case body 26 or a lid portion 27 that covers the internal space 2S that is open on the side of the case body 26. The case may be configured such that a pair of case bodies that can be divided into two parts in a predetermined direction (for example, a width direction of the guide plate, a longitudinal direction of the guide plate, or a height direction) are assembled to each other and have a space in which the vibrator can be accommodated.

In the present invention, the guide plate extending linearly may be fixed to the upper end portion of the movable portion, and when the movable portion is provided with the pair of side plates, as illustrated in fig. 2 and the like, the guide plate may be fixed to the side plates or the connecting plate in a posture in which the guide plate is placed on the upper end portions of the pair of side plates (in a posture in which the guide plate straddles the upper end portions of the pair of side plates) in addition to the mode in which the guide plate is fixed to the connecting plate that connects the upper end portions of the side plates to each other. In the linear feeder in which the movable portion is formed by a housing, the guide plate may be fixed to the housing in a state in which the guide plate is placed on a portion forming the upper end portion of the housing (the upper wall portion of the housing main body 26 in the case of the housing 25 shown in fig. 18).

In the linear feeder X of the present invention, instead of the structure in which the pair of transducers 4 (the pair of transducers 4) is arranged along the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T, a structure may be employed in which the transducers are arranged in the width direction W of the guide plate T as shown in fig. 19 and 20 (fig. 20 is a view seen from the arrow a direction of fig. 19). In the figure, the movable portion 2 having the pair of left and right side plates 21 connected by the connecting plate 22 is provided, and the side plate 21 for fixing one transducer 4 of the pair of transducers 4 (pair of transducers 4) and the side plate 21 for fixing the other transducer 4 are not the common side plate 21, but since the side plates 21 are connected by the connecting plate 22, the movable portion 2 linearly vibrates by the vibration of each transducer 4, and stable vibration of the guide plate T can be obtained.

The linear feeder of the present invention may be configured such that a pair of transducers (pairs of transducers) are arranged in the height direction (see, for example, fig. 7). In this case, both of the pair of transducers arranged in the height direction may be disposed in an internal space of the movable portion (an internal space partitioned by the pair of side plates and the coupling plate or an internal space of the case), or a pair of transducers arranged in the height direction may be disposed in an internal space of the movable portion, with the transducer located on the upper side relative to the pair of transducers, and the transducer located on the lower side may be disposed in a space below the internal space of the movable portion. As an example of the latter case, for example, the following structure can be cited: as shown in fig. 21, in the linear feeder X to which the housing 25 is applied as the movable portion 2, the upper transducer 4 is fixed in a posture of being placed on the upward surface of the bottom wall portion 251 partitioning the internal space 2S of the housing 25, and the lower transducer 4 is fixed in a posture of being in contact with the downward surface of the bottom wall portion 251 partitioning the internal space 2S of the housing 25 at the mounting portion 41. In this figure, a mode in which a pair of transducers 4 arranged in the height direction are fixed by a common screw N5 is illustrated. In addition, in order not to impair the vibrator operation of lower vibrator 4, concave portion 13 for avoiding interference with lower vibrator 4 is formed in a part of fixing portion 1.

As an example of a structure in which a pair of transducers (pairs of transducers) are arranged in the height direction, such a structure may be adopted: as shown in fig. 22, the mounting portion 41 (1 st flange portion 44) of each transducer 4 is shared, and the pair of transducers 4 are arranged in the height direction so as to be vertically symmetrical about the mounting portion 41. In this case, a pair of transducers 4 may be fixed to the movable portion 2 by screwing a screw into a screw hole 442 formed in the common mounting portion 41.

Further, the linear feeder of the present invention may have a single vibrator. Fig. 23 illustrates a linear feeder X in which a single vibrator 4 is fixed to a side plate 21 constituting the movable portion 2, and fig. 24 illustrates a linear feeder X in which a single vibrator 4 is fixed to a housing 25 (block) constituting the movable portion 2.

Further, the linear feeder may have 3 or more odd-numbered transducers.

In the case of a linear feeder X having 3 or more transducers or a plurality of pairs of transducers (pairs of transducers), the plurality of transducers may be arranged in one or more directions selected from 3 directions of the guide plate, i.e., the longitudinal direction, the height direction, and the width direction. Thus, for example, a layout may also be employed: in a linear feeder having a pair of vibrators arranged in a posture in which two groups are turned upside down from each other, the vibrators are arranged in each group along the longitudinal direction of a guide plate, and the groups are arranged in the height direction from each other.

The linear feeder of the present invention may be configured by any one of an electromagnet, a driver, and a motor as a vibration source instead of a piezoelectric element. Even any one of the vibration sources can be a linear feeder with a built-in vibration source. Further, a linear feeder having an external vibration source may be used.

In the linear feeder of the present invention, as shown in fig. 25 and 26 (fig. 26 is a view seen from the direction of arrow a in fig. 25, and the vibrator 4 on the left side of fig. 25 with respect to the drawing is omitted), as the fixing portion 1, a fixing portion including a base portion 14 fixed in a state of being directly placed on the ground, a balance weight 15 connected to the movable portion 2 by a support spring 3, and an anti-vibration spring 16 interposed between the base portion 14 and the balance weight 15 may be applied. This figure illustrates a manner in which the L-letter shaped anti-vibration spring 16 is applied. By applying the fixing portion 1, the linear feeder X having excellent vibration-proof performance for preventing and suppressing the propagation of vibration to the ground can be realized.

As the linear feeder X having improved vibration-proof performance for preventing and suppressing the propagation of vibration to the ground, there can be mentioned: as shown in fig. 27 and 28 (fig. 28 is a view seen from the direction of arrow a in fig. 27, and the vibrator 4 is omitted), the various linear feeders described above (except the linear feeder X shown in fig. 25 and 26) are regarded as the linear feeder body X1, the linear feeder body X1 is supported in a suspended state by the vibration prevention unit 7, and the linear feeder body X1 is configured to be capable of vibrating in this supported state. The vibration preventing unit 7 includes a base portion 71 fixed in a state of being directly placed on the floor surface, a pair of upright wall portions 72 extending upward from the base portion 71 and disposed to face each other in the conveying direction of the guide plate T, a connecting wall portion 73 for connecting lower end portions of the upright wall portions 72 to each other, and a vibration preventing spring 74 capable of fixing one end portion to an upper end of each upright wall portion 72 and fixing the other end portion to the movable portion 2. The pair of vibration-proof springs 74 are disposed in a posture facing each other along the longitudinal direction H of the guide plate T, and the other end portions thereof are fixed to the movable portion 2 by screws N7. When the driving unit including the vibrator 4 and the movable unit 2 is driven in the state where the linear feeder body X1 is supported by the vibration isolation unit 7 having the vibration isolation spring 74 in this manner, the guide plate T linearly vibrates in the longitudinal direction according to the same principle as in the above-described embodiment, and the object to be conveyed on the guide plate T can be conveyed in one direction along the longitudinal direction H by vibration, and the vibration isolation unit 7 can prevent and suppress the propagation of vibration of the linear feeder body X1 to the floor surface. Further, the mount 11 of the linear feeder main body X1 functions as a balance weight. The vibration isolation unit 7 is a member corresponding to the "fixed portion directly or indirectly fixed to the ground" of the present invention, and the vibration isolation spring 74 of the vibration isolation unit 7 can be regarded as a component corresponding to the "support spring connecting the fixed portion and the movable portion" of the present invention. The linear feeder body X1 shown in fig. 27 and 28 corresponds to the linear feeder X shown in fig. 1 and 2.

As shown in fig. 29 and 30 (fig. 30 is a view seen from the direction of arrow a in fig. 29, and the vibrator 4 is omitted), the linear feeder body X1 supported by the vibration isolation unit 7 may include the movable portion 2 formed of the housing 25 (block) accommodating the vibrator 4 in the internal space 2S as the linear feeder X having improved vibration isolation performance. The linear feeder body X1 shown in fig. 29 corresponds to the linear feeder X shown in fig. 17.

In the linear feeder having a plurality of transducers, all the transducers are preferably of the same configuration, but may be a combination of transducers of different configurations. For example, in the linear feeder X shown in fig. 17 and 29, a vibrator integrally including the mounting portion 41, the columnar portion 42, and the weight portion 43 is applied as the vibrator 4 facing the left side of the paper, and a vibrator having a weight portion main body 46 constituting a part of the weight portion 43 and independent from the mounting portion 41 and the columnar portion 42 is applied as the vibrator 4 facing the right side of the paper. In this way, a combination of a plurality of transducers 4 can be appropriately selected.

In addition, in the linear feeder having a plurality of transducers, although the vibration sources may be provided in all the transducers, for example, as shown in fig. 15, 17, 27, and 29, the vibration sources 5 may be provided only in a plurality of transducers 4 other than the selected one transducer 4 or all the transducers, in view of the resonance effect.

In the linear feeder of the present invention, the specific mechanism for changing the support spring to the vertical posture in which the height direction is aligned with the vertical direction and the inclined posture inclined by a predetermined angle from the vertical posture can be changed as appropriate. Therefore, the tilt posture of the support spring can be set to be selectable from a plurality of tilt postures. In this case, the tilt posture of the support spring may be set so as to be selectable in stages from a plurality of predetermined tilt postures, or may be set so as to be adjustable in a stepless manner from within a predetermined tilt angle range. Fig. 3, 19, 21, and 23 to 25 show a case where the support spring 3 is set in an inclined posture and the vibration direction TD of the guide plate T is set at an angle inclined by a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal line in the linear feeder X in which the support spring 3 is configured to be changeable in posture between the vertical posture and the inclined posture.

Further, the linear feeder may be configured such that the posture of the support spring is maintained at a constant posture and the posture of the support spring cannot be changed to another posture (see fig. 16).

The post portion of the vibrator may extend in the height direction from the mounting portion, and the material and shape are not particularly limited as long as the conditions for the vibrator to operate like a spring during pendulum motion are satisfied.

When the independent pillar portion and weight portion are coupled to each other by the vibrator with the screw, the mounting direction of the screw may be set to the extending direction of the guide plate (see fig. 13 and 25).

In the linear feeder of the present invention, it is preferable that a portion of the mounting portion provided on one end side of the transducer, which is formed with the screw hole for fixing to the movable portion, is set at a position deviated from the fulcrum during the pendulum movement.

As long as the linear feeder of the present invention is used, the length of the column (spring) of each transducer and the weight of the portion functioning as the weight may be adjusted so as to cancel out the inertia moment of each other by the pair of transducers.

The larger the dimension (width dimension of the column portion) of the column portion constituting the transducer in the same direction as the longitudinal direction of the guide plate is, the higher the frequency vibration can be generated. Therefore, vibration of a desired frequency can be generated only by setting the width dimension of the pillar portion to an appropriate value.

The fixing portion preferably functions as a balance weight, but may not function as a balance weight.

The specific configuration of each part is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A linear feeder for imparting vibration to a guide plate extending linearly and conveying a conveyed object placed on the guide plate in a longitudinal direction of the guide plate,

the linear feeder includes:

a fixing part directly or indirectly fixed on the ground;

a movable portion to which the guide plate is fixed at an upper end portion;

a support spring for connecting the fixed part and the movable part;

a vibrator having a mounting portion provided on one end side for mounting to the movable portion, a column portion extending in a height direction from the mounting portion, and a weight portion provided on the other end side as a free end, and performing a pendulum motion; and

an excitation source for vibrating the vibrator,

the vibrator performs a pendulum motion by operating the excitation source, and the movable portion and the guide plate vibrate to convey the object to be conveyed,

the linear feeder has one or more pairs of the vibrators, and the mounting portion is fixed to the movable portion such that the vibrators of each pair are positioned upside down with respect to each other.

2. The linear feeder of claim 1,

the plurality of vibrators are arranged in one or more directions selected from a longitudinal direction, a height direction, and a width direction of the guide plate.

3. The linear feeder of claim 1,

the movable portion includes a pair of side plates disposed at positions on both sides of the vibrator across the vibrator in the width direction of the guide plate, or includes a case accommodating the vibrator in an internal space.

4. The linear feeder of claim 1,

the support spring having a plate shape is configured to be changeable between a vertical posture in which a height direction is aligned with a vertical direction and an inclined posture inclined at a predetermined angle from the vertical posture.